Dear all,
I am not a fan of the upcoing new 'Swiss System' for Champions League. But the argument is: hey, there will be more games between 'big teams' during the group phase. Well, yes... But is that 'worth' the changes? My guess is: no.
But what I really don't get:
What will this new Swiss Format add to the Europa League and especially the Conference League?
Anyone really liking this new format for these two cup competitions?
I am curious!
Swiss System for Europa League and Conference League
I like the actual swiss system. The essence of it is that the pairs are made after each round, so we get balanced pairs.
This system by UEFA (basically stolen from Shara and further spoiled) however is not swiss, it is some kind of weird reduced round-robin system, where you cannot even make the schedule with the Berger tables.
This system by UEFA (basically stolen from Shara and further spoiled) however is not swiss, it is some kind of weird reduced round-robin system, where you cannot even make the schedule with the Berger tables.
UEFA - We care about money. Pravda za Kolubaru!
Playing time for players that are not first-choices in their teams (that's my sarcastic answer because i didn't want to write *nothing*).
International break hater
I like that you're playing against a different opponent each round and I like that after the league phase there'll be a proper bracket for the KO rounds. Even though the "Swiss" name is misleading and plainly incorrect, I don't really see any significant drawbacks compared to groups, so overall I'm positive about the change (and interested to see how it will play out in reality).
I tend to agree with your reasoning. Initially, I didn’t like the concept UEFA was proposing. After looking into it what it might deliver, I’m very hopeful that it will be an improvement over the current group stage.fruki wrote: ↑Sat Jan 20, 2024 22:56 I like that you're playing against a different opponent each round and I like that after the league phase there'll be a proper bracket for the KO rounds. Even though the "Swiss" name is misleading and plainly incorrect, I don't really see any significant drawbacks compared to groups, so overall I'm positive about the change (and interested to see how it will play out in reality).
We've already had it in the UEFA Cup, where teams played four games in the group stage, each against different opponents. Apparently, nobody liked that format, so it was scrapped.
The groups of five teams? To be fair, it was a bit different. It was still a group and having an uneven number of teams made it awkward.
The top nine teams of the Europa League group stage this season are West Ham, Liverpool, Roma, Ajax, Villarreal, Leverkusen, Atalanta, Rangers, and Sporting. And the Swiss system next season will guarantee that there will be nine matches between these teams in the league stage next season, so that works out to be about one per each match day. These are matches that are quite attractive to the general public other than supporters of those clubs, and that is what UEFA is looking for.
Yes, that - together with 12 more clubs playing league phase competitions from next season - is what I like most about the changes.
The loss of the draws at each round of the knockout phase is what I like the least.
The loss of the draws at each round of the knockout phase is what I like the least.
I don't like the hate the new format gets. Personally, the group stage was quite often very boring and sometimes really predictable. It just felt slow and the competition felt really disconnected. You get 3 opponents and that could be it. I don't follow in that detail until the knockouts. I look forward to following the battle for 1st, top 8, top 16, top 24, the big matches etc. I also really like the increased equality in playing against teams your coefficient size too. It will actually show the best teams in every competition, at least more than now. More clubs will get a chance and that's awesome. People just hate change and have quite a bit of nostalgia for the old system.
Also, another thing I love about the new format is no dropping down from UCL to UEL and UEL to ECL. I didn't like that at all.
Overall, I'm excited!
Also, another thing I love about the new format is no dropping down from UCL to UEL and UEL to ECL. I didn't like that at all.
Overall, I'm excited!
Oh yes, that is another thing which is no longer necessary: clubs transferring from Champions to Europa and from Europa to Conference after the group/league phase.
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rpo.castro
- Senior Member
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The only good thing is ending the dropouts.
With so many teams qualifying, the league/group phase gets even more boring than it was.
I think tv ratings for EL and ECL are low and are not going to raise.
With so many teams qualifying, the league/group phase gets even more boring than it was.
I think tv ratings for EL and ECL are low and are not going to raise.
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Partizan_Belgrad
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- Location: Belgrade, Serbia
Can anyone explain the Swiss System? If you can, please let the teams be numbers from 1 to 36 and explain how it works? Do you know by the draw all 8 matches and rivals for each team? How do all this affect clubs from the same country? 
First, keep in mind that this UEFA "Swiss" system has very little to do with the actual Swiss system used mostly in other games (chess, card games, esports etc), so reading up on that one will not help you in understanding this one. Second, I'm sure there are a ton of good explainer videos on youtube, but here you go:Partizan_Belgrad wrote: ↑Mon Jan 22, 2024 09:02 Can anyone explain the Swiss System? If you can, please let the teams be numbers from 1 to 36 and explain how it works? Do you know by the draw all 8 matches and rivals for each team? How do all this affect clubs from the same country?
Before the draw the teams are separated into 4 pots based on coefficient, so 1-9, 10-18, 19-27, 28-36. The full draw is made before the start of the league phase, so you'll know all your opponents in advance. Every team, no matter which pot they're in, will play 2 matches against 2 different opponents from each pot. So let's say you're team number 5: you'll play against 2 different opponents from teams ranked 1-9 (one home and one away), then 2 opponents from 10-18, 2 from 19-27 and 2 from 28-36.
Note that in which pot you're in doesn't really matter at this point (it doesn't make your schedule easier), as everyone's opponents will come from all 4 pots. And in principle teams from the same country will not play each other, unless it'll be impossible to make a draw otherwise (I guess for countries with 5+ teams), then max 1 match between teams from the same country will be allowed.
Yes, these are also 2 significant improvements.
Even though the draw itself was exciting, I think a full bracket system is much more fair. Previously if you managed to beat a top team in the knockout, you could just get another one in the next round. But now if you eliminate the 1st seed for example, you'll have the reward of playing against the 7 or 8th seed in the next round, instead of potentially playing a top 6 seed again.
Plus, I think it's exciting seeing in advance what your potential road to the final looks like. (although I understand some people prefer the full randomness of an open draw)